Finance News Update, what you need to know

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

The Australian dollar has dropped below the 74 US cent mark, dragged down by weakness in Chinese stocks and a rise in the greenback.

At 0630 AEST on Thursday, the Aussie was trading at 73.77 US cents, down from 74.72 cents on Wednesday.

And the Australian share market looks set to open flat after Wall Street fell slightly but European markets rose as Greece geared up for a parliamentary vote on reforms attached to a new bailout deal.

At 0645 AEST on Thursday, the September share price index futures contract was up four points at 5,588.

ELSEWHERE:

WASHINGTON - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde says Greece's EU creditors are moving more closely to the idea of restructuring the country's massive debt.

ATHENS - Anti-austerity protesters have hurled petrol bombs at police guarding the Greek parliament as MPs debated deeply unpopular reforms they need to vote in to clear the way for a eurozone rescue of Greece's failing economy.

PARIS - French MPs have overwhelmingly backed the new Greek bailout agreement, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls saying it was the only route out of the crisis.

WASHINGTON - US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has stuck to her forecast for an increase in the Fed's key interest rate later this year, predicting a pick-up in the US economy.

WASHINGTON - The US economy grew during May and June, keeping up momentum after the first quarter's stall, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey says.

WASHINGTON - US producer prices rose for the second straight month in June, led by higher energy prices, official data shows.

WASHINGTON - US industrial production rose for the first time in three months in June on the back of higher utility output, but manufacturing remained flat, the Federal Reserve reports.

LONDON - Britain's unemployment rate has climbed to 5.6 per cent in the quarter ending in May, with the number of jobless up for the first time in over two years, data shows.

NEW YORK - Bank of America has reported a big jump in quarterly earnings in results that were lifted by a major drop in legal expenses from the year-ago period.

STOCKHOLM - Shares in Sweden's SKF, the world's biggest producer of ball bearings, fell by over seven per cent after earnings in the second quarter rose less than expected.